Tlacinque

Bloodlines

Introduction

An extinct bloodline in all eyes but their own, the Tlacinque played only a small part in Kindred history. Although other clans have forgotten them, the children of Tezcatlipoca have never forgotten those who invaded their home and they've certainly never forgiven.

Kindred who came to Mexico with the Conquistadors found the cities of the New World -- far larger and more prosperous than they'd expected from "barbarous heathens" -- hosted and active population of native vampires. Some were Gangrel, some Nosferatu, but the most influential native bloodline was the Tlacique. They claimed descent from Tezcatlipoca, the Jaguar, god of night, mirrors, smoke and black-magic. They ruled openly, in a fashion not seen since Carthage, in small family groups called cliques. The "nahualli", Tlacique blood sorcerers, removed the hearts of sacrifices atop the great pyramids and drank their blood. The Tlacinque proclaimed themselves gods, and their people worshiped them.

The Camarilla could have claimed a great ally, for the natives treated the Spaniards as honored guests, and the Tlacique were happy to negotiate with the foreign Kindred. And negotiate they did -- until smallpox devastated their people and the Conquistadors plundered their cities and plunged their worshipers into near slavery. This was hardly the fault of the European Kindred; mortal greed, not Cainite influence, steered the course of the Spanish explorers. But the Tlacique, who ruled their own people, could not conceive that the Europeans did things differently. If the newcomers oppressed the natives, it must be so because the Camarilla Kindred wished it so.

The Tlacique soon learned that they could not confront the newcomers alone. They had learned, however, of another faction of Kindred, newly arrived from Europe, a sect that counted the Camarilla among its enemies. The Tlacique allied with the struggling Sabbat.

This alliance lasted only as long as it took to drive the Camarilla from Mexico. The Tlacique soon realized that the Sabbat exalted violence. The Tlacique had innumerable bloody traditions, and rituals, but the Black-Hand was all form with no meaning; their enthusiam for adopting the Tlacique's rites was rooted in sadism, not faith. Their erstwhile allies were more depraved and more dangerous than the Camarilla Kindred they'd driven from their lands.

The Tlacique battled the Sabbat in turn -- and lost miserably. The Sabbat all but eliminated the outnumbered natives and diablerized their elders. The few surviving Tlacique scattered to distant communities. The Black-Hand thought them dead and gone; the Camarilla forgot them in the face of Sabbat aggression. The Tlacique became an obscure legend in the lands they once ruled.

After four centuries of hiding, that "legend" is vengeful and hungry.

Perhaps fewer than a few score Tlacique exist tonight, hidden throughout South and Central America and the southwestern states of North America. Slowly, they reestablish lines of communication. For the first time, they work together as a unified bloodline. They seek the resting places of those slumbering elders the Sabbat missed in their purge. They launch guerrilla assaults on Sabbat enclaves, determined to take back their stolen homelands.

The Sabbat is again at war -- they just haven't yet figured out with whom.

Nickname: Jaguars

Pronunciation: Tlacique (t-la-see-Kay)

Sect: The Tlacique claim no allegiance to either sect, but they have one budding alliance. Their interest in purging the Sabbat from Central America and their links to the Aztecs and Maya provide common ground with the Pisanob branch of Clan Giovanni. Negotiations remain tentative at this point, bu the elders of the Sabbat and Camarilla would shudder to think of what these two groups could accomplish together, if only they knew the Tlacique existed at all.

Appearance: The few surviving Tlacique elders are natives of Central America. Some younger Tlacique come from immigrants now dwelling in the former territories of the old United States, though most are dawn from populations south of the Rio Grande river. Whether they dwell in a Third-World, poverty-stricken village or a bustling metropolis, the Tlacique try to blend in with the surrounding population.

Havens: Tlacique in large cities reside just about anywhere, from apartments to abandoned basements. Those dwelling in less sophisticated or rural areas prefer houses and huts with well-constructed cellars. A few paranoid Tlacique who have mastered Earth Meld, keep no haven at all, sinking into the soil with every sunrise. Most Tlacique decorate their havens with naive crafts and other reminders of their heritage -- and purpose.

Potential Progeny: The Tlacique consider anyone of South or Central American descent form the Embrace, so long as she proves both sympathetic and useful to the cause. Because they are so few and scattered throughout enemy territory, the Tlacique look for self-reliance in their progeny. In addition, they also seek those who show signs of social responsibility, particularly in the areas of native rights and cultural preservation. Although the bloodline remains conservative and dislikes undisciplined childer, the elders relax this restriction somewhat in the modern nights.

Disciplines: The inborn disciplines of the Tlacique are Obfuscate, Presence and Protean -- the "default" predatory form for Form of the Beast is a jaguar, rather than a wolf.

Weaknesses: The Tlacique suffer exceptionally harsh penalties from sunlight and other illumination. Add two (2) health levels to damage inflicted by sunlight, and subtract one die from all dice pools when exposed to bright light (such as powerful spotlights).

Organization: The Tlacique still struggle to establish a new social order, much to the chagrin of elders who yearn for the structure of nights long past. Status is based partially on age, though young members are respected simply because they are so much more capable of coping with the modern world. Ancillae hold the real power, receiving blessings and instruction from the elders and mentoring the activities of the neonates. Status is also influenced by mastery of Nahuallotl.

Quote: A heart to make the sun rise. The blood within the heart to sustain the sun through his nightly sleep. You are blessed — you get to provide both.

4th Generation

• -- Tezcatlipoca -- Aztec god of Darkness - Smoke - Mirrors - and the darkest of Magic.

12th Generation

• -- Xiloxoch -- The Night Flower

Those of Unknown Generation

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Websites

http://www.mexica.net/nahuatl/